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Warren man missing a week found dead in field

WARREN, Minn. - A Warren man missing for perhaps a week was found dead Thursday morning, apparently from exposure to the cold, only a quarter-mile from his rural home.

It isn't known yet how long his body had been lying there, about 11 miles east of Warren, said Jim Duckstad, manager of the Marshall County Sheriff's Office in Warren. But he said the man's body "was frozen solid," about a quarter-mile from his all-terrain vehicle stuck in snow and the same distance from his rural home.

The man, who was 59, last was seen Jan. 17 on his Polaris ATV about 15 miles east of Warren, Duckstad said.

It appears the man tried to walk back to his home from the ATV, Duckstad said. There were no signs of foul play, he said.

Nighttime temperatures have been well below zero for several days, and wind chill has been pegged down to 35 below zero in recent days, according to the National Weather Service.

The man's name isn't being released yet until relatives have been notified.

But Duckstad said the man was known for staying for periods at more than one residence in the area and "taking off for a few days to stay with friends," so his absence didn't alarm people right away.

At 9:30 p.m., Wednesday, however, a family member called the sheriff's office to report him missing.

A ground and air search Thursday morning, involving about 30 people, including a U.S. Border Patrol airplane, deputies from neighboring Pennington County and test drivers of Arctic Cat snowmobiles from the plant in Thief River Falls, as well as deputies and the volunteer posse from Marshall County, located the body at 10 a.m., Duckstad said.

Dr. Maryann Sens, a pathologist at Altru Hospital and UND's medical school, will conduct an autopsy.